Response Inhibition and Impulsiveness in Smoking and Non-Smoking Young Tattooed Women

According to previous studies, tattooing may express addiction-like behavior. A common problem of tattooed individuals is impulsive behavior. This study investigated the interaction between response inhibition, impulsiveness and smoking in young, tattooed women. Women aged 18-35 years with (N=60) and without (N=60) tattoos completed a Go/NoGo task to assess response inhibition and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11). Significantly higher rates of smoking, higher BIS-11 scores and larger impairment in response inhibition on the Go/NoGo task were observed in the tattooed women. The tattoo effect in the Go/NoGo task and the BIS-11 measures remained significant after adjustment for smoking status. Significant correlation was found between slowness of response-time in the Go/NoGo task and the total and non-planning impulsivity scores of the BIS-11. No significant associations were found between the BIS-11 and number of commission/omission errors and variability of response time in the Go/NoGo task. This study is the first to demonstrate that tattooed women exhibit lower response inhibition capacity and higher impulsiveness than non-tattooed controls. Smoking does not explain the psychometric/neurocognitive differences between tattooed women and controls.